A reader writes:
Hey Jimmy – I pretty regularly frequent your blog (and
voted for it as well), but I must get something
cleared up right now: I hope I wasn’t just being
gullible when I accepted your chupacabra blog as a
real story. I took it as fact, but now am not sure if
that was one of your tongue-in-cheek articles. I
forwarded that link to some of my friends who are
laughing at me. They say it’s like something out of
those zany tabloids that doctored up the pictures with
computer modifications. Am I this naive? Please tell
me if that whole thing was a hoax. I told them I got
it from a credible source.
FIRST, HERE’S THE LINK TO THE ORIGINAL POST.
This was definitely not a hoax, at least not on my part. Whenever I do a tongue-in-cheek post, I try to signal what I’m doing by dragging the (fictional) newspaper The Daily Planet into it. If I attribute something to the Daily Planet, that’s the signal that I’m doing humor. Thus, for example, I may run a real press story at the top of a post and then have a Daily Planet comment on it at the bottom.
If there is a hoax in this case, it’s on me, too, but I don’t have evidence at this point that there is a hoax. I always do due diligence to try to verify what I’m reporting from multiple sources. I don’t usually link all the sources I check, but check several of several different types.
In this case, the first page I linked was to a story hosted on the web page of the San Antonio NBC affiliate WOAI (Channel 4) (and its sister radio station of the same name), which is a real station listed in the yellow pages.
That story contained these pictures:
These images are confirmatory to the other images linked.
The second page I linked was to Linda Moulton Howe’s web page. Linda Moulton Howe is a reporter who has reported on the weird for years and who spoke to some of the individuals who were involved in one of the incidents. She also provides copious (graphic) pictures that seem excessive if someone was doing a hoax and that certainly look like a real creature.
Others are also taking this seriously.
So while I can’t tell you that I’ve seen the thing with my own eyes, I can say that I’ve done my best to verify that the things are real live dead critters that got shot in a couple of towns in Texas.
Whether it’s the basis of the chupacabra legend, I couldn’t tell you, but it is weird looking.
MORE INFO (AND PICTURES) HERE.
Jimmy, have you seen this?
” As it turns out, the commotion surrounding the mystery beast can now be accredited to a sickly coyote.”
From this article:
http://www.countryworldnews.com/Editorial/ETX/2004/et102804Creature.htm
I hadn’t seen that particular article, but had encountered the claim. REBUTTAL HERE.
It looks to me like a Fox with mange.
Are you saying that the Daily Planet isn’t real?
And how does Clark become Superman, now that all the phone booths are disappearing?
Looks kinda like a Tasmanian wolf or similar thylacine, to me. Even the coloration is there.
http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/
If it really is a Tasmanian wolf, even a mangy sick one, I’ll be so chuffed…I always thought they were cool. The dentition pictures comparing thylacine and wolf do look suggestive.
i think that the chupacabra is an alien, but not the alien that is visiting here. i think if aliens had the same problem on their planet with these damn things, that they dropped them off here. but when we find them, we’ll drop all our annoyances on there planet, like Oprah, and John Kerry. well, do you know were i can get a good pic of one, when i am older i want to catch one myself.
Well, if all these things are cyotes with mange, i guess they are going extinct, sniff sniff, good bye fair cyotes, we’ll all miss you. o god, i think ill go cry in my room now. okay, well, who’s up for some KFC?
Look, Pa! I’m gonna catch me some chupicabrara and make mes a FINE stew! Yeehaw. Just kidding. I definintly don’t think thats a chupacabra. nooo way.
Are there Chupacabras in Cuba New Mexico?
Are there Chupacabras in Cuba New Mexico?
this looks like a mexican hairless dog to me….otherwise know as Xoloitzcuintli or XOLO, or at least some related breed!! i have three of these, they r not killers though!
Um excuse me, that is NO cyote sick or not! My fiancee kills cyotes all the time, and brings the carcass’ home. In no way, shape, or form is that a cyote or fox for that matter. I think it is a species we have yet to discover. What if it IS what locals claim to have been killing their small livestock (that they so happened to call Chupacabra). Wake up people this is not impossible, new species are discovered everyday!
DUDE SWEET PICS AND SWEET INFO…..im in love with research about the chupacabra!!!!